She had charted the race course herself, and it was even trickier than it looked. Past the tip of the island where the rocks made navigation treacherous, around the stepping stones of islands continuing to the north, out to the largest of the nearby minor islands, around carefully set buoys, beside sand bars, and any other problem she could think of before returning to shore.

The hard part would be breaking away from the pack, there was a good bunch of experienced sailors in the mix, but once she was out and away she would be home free.

Probably.

The beginning of the race went pretty well to plan, the rocks tripped up the younger and more inexperienced boys, and the strong winds around the stepping stones pushed a good number off course, costing them precious time.

Her palms were sweating and she was far more nervous than she wanted to admit. Her breakfast of baked fish with mango sauce threatened to paint the deck orange.

She hadn't even noticed Maui until now, trying as she could to completely ignore him, but he made his existence very obvious as he bumped his boat into hers.

"Hey Princess, how's the sail holding up?"

"Great! Just fine. In fact, even better once I finish this race, because I'm going to make myself a fine new sail out of your stupid hide." She maneuvered quickly, pushing her boat back into his before breaking away entirely, off to overtake the small group that had managed to slip ahead of her.

The winds around the stepping stones were hard to predict, and she struggled more than she would have liked to catch up with the group ahead of her. The sun was rising well into the sky by this point, and she was sweating more than usual.

Luckily, the remaining boys had all decided this was an 'Every Man for Himself' situation and had begun capsizing each other any way they could, until it was just the three of them, herself, and the hero of men in the race.

She felt a growl in her throat as Maui got ahead of her again, rounding the largest island and preparing to take the buoy maze back to shore. She watched as he bumped his boat against one of the contenders, and as easily as one might lift a shell off the sand, flipped over the boat and sent the occupant into the sea. He caught another, pushing them hard onto a sandbank, grounded them entirely.

His antics had greatly slowed him down, however, and it was down to just them three, and Moana was not liking these odds.

The last of her mortal contenders capsized on an unexpected rock, leaving just Moana and Maui and the long stretch of sea between them and the shore, and things were deadly close.

"Still think I'm joking?" Maui called, effortlessly catching up to her with a grin on his face in desperate need of a smack from her oar.

She pulled on the rope to catch a sudden shift in the air, and it snapped in her hands, throwing her backwards into the sea.

She took a glance at her boat with its sail hanging dead, and begged the sea, her long time friend for help. She would outswim him, it couldn't be that hard, not with the entire ocean on her side.

Except, the ocean, which had gently cradled and carried her to safety so many times her entire life, held her fast, far from shore. The current wrapped around her feet and pulled her beneath the water, and by the time it spit her out the sand, coughing and swearing and spluttering for air, it was already over.

"Good race, Princess." Maui said, offering her a hand, which she rejected, pushing him aside as she stood up on her own, saltwater stinging her eyes and her knees unsteady.

To her absolute embarrassment, she stumbled and fell, Maui catching her with one arm before she ate sand.

"Thanks." She murmured, righting herself, pushing away from him as quickly as possible, her cheeks burning, her traitorous heart thudding and whispering things to her that she had never wanted to admit.

Beside her, the ocean pushed her oar ashore, bumping into the side of her foot as though in apology. She bent and scooped it up, thankful for its return but still full of rage at the sea for its betrayal. Maui, to his credit, said nothing about the fact that she still had it, his carved signature beginning to fade with much wear.

The great sea of villagers had reached them now, bearing congratulations and fresh woven floral leis and absolute awe the fact that yes, the real and actual Maui had participated in a race for their Chief's hand in marriage, and won.

Her mother led the pack, holding out Maui's hook, thrilled to finally be free of the burden.

"Did everyone make it back?" Moana asked, ignoring any other topic at hand.

"Koa and a few others sailed out to make sure everyone who capsized made it back to us." Her mother replied, still holding the hook out in her hands.

Why hadn't Maui taken it back? Without it, he was nothing, after all.

Her mother offered it to him again.

"Actually, this is for you." Maui said, collecting the hook and offering it to Moana.

She stood there, unable to make a reply. What did he just say?"

He stood there, in front of her entire village, all of them silent and waiting for what he had to say.

"I've been tasked with spending a lifetime as a regular human, and I couldn't think of any better way than to spend it than with you."

He had to be joking, this absolutely was some elaborate joke and- and her heart thudded, daring to believe it to be true.

"Here, I can make it easier for you to carry." He pressed both sides, and it shrank to the size of a small medallion. He reached forward and added it to her necklace, her grandmother's necklace, that had once carried the heart of Te Fiti across the ocean.

His hands were warm on her skin, leaving her colder when he pulled away, her emotions at war inside her. The hook lay heavy on her chest, and she placed a hand to it. It pulsed under her fingers, and grew still.

"As long as you carry this, you are my chief, and my life and soul belong to you."

She stuttered for a response, looking up at him, the sun sparkling in his eyes.

This had to be a joke. She refused to believe anything else and she was going to be so pissed when he revealed his nonsense.

"Okay." She said softly, taking his hands in hers. "I accept your offer. From this day forward, you will be Maui of Motunui. I welcome you to your new home."

The next few moments were a flurry of motion that turned into several hours of the same. The cheers and the leis heaped upon her neck, and the singing and the feast she had no idea had been prepared in preparation for the Chief's marriage.

Oh gods, were they expecting her to do this today?

Of course they were, if she won there would have been a feast celebrating her greatness and unmatched strength, and now that she had lost it was a wedding feast, pressing her and the man that had bested her into marriage fast enough that she couldn't wiggle free.

She was still waiting for the "Gotcha" moment as the priestess bound their hands in bright red ribbons, saying the words Moana was so familiar with, so often had she attended the weddings of her people, drunk on rum and happy to be alive.

She spoke her responses in a daze, her heart pounding as she realized that no, this was real and it was happening so so fast and she could stop it, she absolutely could call out and say no and it would be fine, it would be absolutely understandable of course who would expect her to stick to her promise to marry whoever could outsail her when a literal god had come down and begged for his chance to participate.

Except, she didn't want to stop it. She could hide it in her sense of duty and her promises and the pressure of the celebration around her but as she pressed her lips to his and sealed their bond eternal, she knew this was everything she had ever wanted.